Month: April 2016

Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg: A’s have the starters and relievers that can compete

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photo credit SI MLB tweet: Oakland A’s starter Rich Hill

On the Oakland A’s podcast with Jerry Feitelberg the A’s enjoyed being in first place in the AL West for the beginning of the current series with the visiting Los Angeles Angels at 4-3. Yes at one time before they got those four wins they were 1-3 against the Chicago White Sox who opened the A’s homestand at the Oakland Coliseum.

In that series with the Sox the A’s only got blown out one game and were involved in three one run games with the Sox of those they lost two and won one. The A’s took three in a row from Seattle. The A’s starting pitching has been good Rich Hill went in as an emergency starter for Sonny Gray on the home opener.

Hill struggled that night but on Saturday he was excellent and Chris Bassitt who pitched the second game pitched well on Sunday in Seattle going seven innings three hits, and gave up an unearned run. The A’s bull pen has been outstanding with help from Ryan Madson, John Axford, and Sean Doolittle anyone of the three of them can close out a game.

Join Jerry for the A’s podcast with the latest news and inside the clubhouse information at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

 

That’s Amaury’s Podcast, News and Commentary: Missing Mariners fan is found dead; Jerry & Amaury updates all the latest on the A’s

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photo credit AP photo: Oakland A’s pitcher Sonny Gray pauses with catcher Stephen Vogt after giving up a two run homer to the LA Angels Mike Trout in the top of the sixth inning

On the podcast on That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary baseball is always something that is supposed to be a happy occasion. It was opening night last Friday for the Seattle Mariners who were hosting the Oakland A’s at Safeco Field where 30 year old Ingrid Lyne of Renton had plans to attend the game with a man she had met on line for her first date.

Local authorities found Lyne’s body parts in a Seattle homeowners recycling bin the body parts have been confirmed to be linked to Lyne.  Authorities reported that three human body parts including a foot were found by a home owner just three miles from Safeco Field on Saturday.  Renton Police detectives identified that the body parts were Lyne’s and that King County Medical Examiners will conduct an autopsy. Police believe she was not murdered in the Safeco Field neighborhood.

Officers have arrested 37 year old John Robert Charlton of Snohomish County for the murder of Lyne. Evidence pointing to Charlton were phone records obtained which helped lead police to Charlton. Police served an arrest warrant on Charlton from Snohomish County in cooperation with the Renton Police.

Oakland A’s update: The A’s who swept the Seattle Mariners are doing well at 4-3 in first place in the AL West they’re not expected to be in first place all year and neither are the LA Angels who the A’s host for this three game series. One of the two Texas teams are going to be in it the Texas Rangers or the Houston Astros.

I called four games with the Rangers when they were in Anaheim and they have some super young kids like Nomar Mazara who just came up and got two singles and a home run off Angels starter Jered Weaver. Mazara is only 20 years old, the Rangers have Hanser Alberto who plays second base they got a terrific team and I like the Rangers a lot because they got a great mixture of young players and veterans.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the Spanish radio voice for the Oakland A’s and the Spanish TV voice for the LA Angels and does News and Commentary each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

San Francisco Giants podcast with Morris Phillips: After successful homestand SF heads to the Rocky Mountains for meeting with Rockies

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AP photo: San Francisco Giants pitcher Johnny Cueto gets the once over to see if he’s feeling ok by home plate umpire Alan Porter, Giants manager Bruce Bochy, and team trainer on Sunday at AT&T Park in the first inning

On the San Francisco podcast with Morris Phillips the Giants came back from being down 5-0 and beat the Dodgers 9-6 on Sunday having a successful series against LA. The Giants starter Johnny Cueto got some cushion later after spotting the Dodgers five runs.

The Giants Angel Pagan told  Cueto in the Giants dugout to hold the Dodgers to five runs and the offense will do the rest and they did coming back the Giants had home run help in the game from Buster Posey with his second homer of the season, Brandon Belt who this past week signed a six year contract hit his first home of the season and Pagan getting a base knock of his own and his first of the year.

Listen to the rest of the Giants  podcast with Morris Phillips each week at http://www.sportsradioservice.com click below

 

Golden State Warriors podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon: Timing couldn’t be any better for Dubs setting record on last day of season

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On the Golden State Warriors podcast with Joe Hawkes Beamon the Warriors timing couldn’t have been any better with one game left on the regular schedule and a home game at that the Warriors are on the brink of breaking the coveted all time winning record held by the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls. The Warriors play the Memphis Grizzlies for the second time in as many days as five.

The last time the two clubs met they played a razor close game with getting by with a 100-99 victory avoiding losing the record. The Sunday was razor close from the stand point that Golden State had to come back and erase a deficit but defeated the San Antonio Spurs for the Spurs loss at home this season 92-86. A Warriors win will not only mean getting the winningest record of all time but they’ll pick up their fourth straight win.

Joe Hawkes Beamon covers all the latest on the Warriors click below for the podcast at http://www.sportsradioservice.com Joe is filling in for David Zizmor who will be back for the Warriors playoffs

A’s beat M’s 2-1 in 10 innings and sweep the series

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MLB: Oakland Athletics at Seattle Mariners
Photo Credit: Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The majority of the preseason prognosticators had the Oakland Athletics finishing dead last in the American League West. Evidently, the A’s forgot to read the predictions for their 2016 season.

On Sunday, the Athletics survived seven innings of shutout baseball pitched by “King Felix” Hernandez (0-1, o.69 ERA), had strong pitching performances by their own stater and bullpen, used the long ball to defeat the Seattle Mariners 2-1 in 10 innings and won the series on the road three games to none.

The Athletics won the game via  a solo home run hit by Coco Crisp in the top of the 10th inning off Seattle reliever Nick Vincent. With two outs, Crisp hit a 3-1 pitch 376 feet over the right field wall to give Oakland a 2-1 lead.

Sean Doolittle took the mound for the Athletics in the bottom of the 10th inning and closed out the game for his first save of the season.

The A’s record improves to 4-3 with the win and puts them in sole possession of first-place in the American League West.

The Mariners are struggling to figure out how they squandered such an outstanding pitching performance like the one turned in by “King Felix” on Sunday.

On the mound

Hernandez was a master on the mound. He pitched seven innings giving up just three hits and no runs. The “King” recorded 10 strike outs and issued just two walks. He threw 99 pitches (62 strikes). The Seattle radio broadcasters said the outing was Hernandez at his best especially with the command he showed on his change-up and breaking ball. It is hard to imagine that such a quality outing simply ended in a no decision.

Chris Bassitt made his second start of the season for Oakland. Bassitt worked seven innings giving up three hits and one unearned run. He had four strikeouts but issued base-on-balls to five Seattle batters. Bassitt threw 97 pitches (58 stikes). Bassitt has yet to figure into a decision in his two starts this year.

The A’s used three pitchers out of the bullpen on Sunday. Ryan Madson, John Axford and Sean Doolittle worked one inning each. The three relievers gave up no runs, no hits, no walks and struck out two hitters. Axford was credited with his first win of the year while Doolittle recorded his first save of the season.

Seattle also used three pitchers out of their bullpen. Joel Peralta was charged with a blown save when gave up a home run to Marcus Semien. Steve Cishek worked a scoreless inning. Nick Vincent was tagged with the loss when he gave up the game winning home run off the bat of Coco Crisp.

In the batter’s box

The A’s scattered five hits over the 10 innings versus Seattle. No Oakland player had a multi-hit day. Crisp, Lowrie, Alonso, Phegley and Semien all had one hit each.

Marcus Semien tied the game at 1-1 when he hit his first home run of year in the top of the eighth inning off Peralta. Semien hit a high fly ball over the left field wall on a 3-2 pitch.

The Mariners managed to get just six hits off the four Oakland pitchers. Nelson Cruz had a two-hit game than included his second double of the year. Seattle catcher Leonys Martin also had a two-hit game.

The Athletics went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.

The M’s were 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and they left 10 men on base.

MVP

The MVP of the game has to be Felix Hernandez. The “King” was brilliant on the mound and showed why he is one of top pitchers in the major leagues. Plus, he deserves to get something for pitching that well and having his team lose the game.

Honorable Mention

Coco Crisp deserves this honor for hitting his first home run since August 27, 2014. After battling through injuries last season, it was nice to see Crisp carry his team to a big win using his bat.

Up next

The Athletics will be back in action on Monday in Oakland when they open a three-game series with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

 

Warriors Tie Bulls’ Record On Historic Night In San Antonio

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By Ben Leonard

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AP photo: Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry applauds as the Warriors tie the all time winning record of the Chicago Bulls on Sunday in San Antonio

Just when you want to stop believing in the Warriors, they jump right back up off the mat. After a shaky stretch in which it seemed hopes of breaking the ’95-’96 Bulls record were all but lost, the Warriors brought themselves right back up to championship form, doing something they hadn’t done since 1997, beat the Spurs in San Antonio.

With a commanding 92-86 win, Stephen Curry and the Warriors (72-9) tied the NBA record for wins in a single season. Now, all that remains in the Warriors’ way to breaking the record is a home game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.

They seem ready to do it — with the record in sight, nothing seems like an obstacle for the Warriors. San Antonio hadn’t lost at home in 48 games, but that didn’t phase the Warriors.

They had perhaps their best defensive first half of the season against one of the league’s best offenses, holding San Antonio to just 35 points on a measly 29 percent shooting from the field. Sure, Tim Duncan was out for rest, but the Warriors still had to grapple with Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge, who scored 20 and 24 points, respectively.

It wasn’t all fun and games in the beginning for Golden State, which struggled on offense in the early going, scoring just 14 points in the first quarter. But once Curry turned it on, it was in the books. In just 35 minutes, he scored 37 points, 26 of which came in the second half. The bench did well to keep Golden State in the lead while Curry rested for the first seven minutes of the fourth, and then Curry provided the separation.

The mantra used to be not to bet against the Spurs, but the Warriors have flipped that script. Bet against Golden State at your own risk.

Giants Go Deep To Steal Series Finale From Dodgers

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By Shawn Whelchel

AP photo: San Francisco Giants Joe Panik hits for a double in the sixth inning of Sunday’s game versus the Los Angeles Dodgers

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.-The Giants entered Sunday’s series finale against the Dodgers just one home run short of leading the MLB. They used three of them to take three-of-four games from their rivals from down south over the weekend, completing yet another comeback with a 9-6 win.

Buster Posey, Brandon Belt and Angel Pagan all went deep for the Giants on Sunday, leading to their fifth come-from-behind victory on the season that showcases the lineups old scrappiness with their newfangled depth throughout the order.

The 2016 are now the first team in franchise history to hit home runs in their first seven games, and the power surge has not gone unnoticed by skipper Bruce Bochy.

“It’s a team that’s gonna hit with more power. That doesn’t always mean home runs but I think if you look at the doubles, that’s gonna pick up, and throughout the lineup we have guys who can drive the ball. We’re not gonna rely on the long-ball but it certainly helps, particularly when you’re down five runs, it’s usually something that you need.”

Starter Johnny Cueto might have wished he was still in the confines of Miller Park after his second outing with his new team didn’t go over nearly as well as his first start of the season.

The quirky right-hander got knocked around for six runs on the day-including five in the first inning alone- but was picked up by his teammate’s at the plate. Despite his early struggles, Bochy kept faith in his new starter, and Cueto would rebound from a torrid start to give up just one more run over the next six innings before leaving with a chance at the win.

Although Bochy noted the tough first inning, the manager was ultimately impressed with Cueto’s resiliency and ability to bounce back after getting knocked around early.

“For him to end up going seven innings says a couple things. How tough he is, he’s a problem and he comes in there and gets a win after that. He was just a different pitcher after the first inning.”

Dodgers starter Scott Kazmir may not have given up runs in a bunch like Cueto, but the southpaw faired no better than Cueto, getting tagged for six runs over just four innings on seven hits. He was the first Dodgers pitcher to give up three home runs to San Francisco since 2004.

The Dodgers bats and the soggy AT&T turf dampened Cueto’s first start at home as a member of the Giants. After holding Los Angeles to 15 runs in eight career starts prior to Sunday’s game, the Dodgers tagged the 30-year old for five in the top of the frame.

Cueto allowed five hits, a walk and plunked one, while also slipping twice in the AT&T grass while attempting to field his position during that span.

But the Giants would showcase the power of their newfangled lineup, as they would erase Cueto’s miscues with the help of the longball.

Posey would kick things off in the third inning with a solo shot high into the left field bleachers to cut the Dodgers lead to just two. Two batters later, the newly-extended Brandon Belt would launch an equalizer of his own in the deep part of the yard, parking one over the center field wall near triples alley to tie the game.

Cueto, who had settled down after his wild first inning, would be tagged again by the Dodgers’ Corey Seager, whose ten game hitting streak would continue with a line drive single to plate Chase Utley in the top of the fourth to regain the lead for his club at 6-5.

The Giants would find an answer again, this time in the form of a blast from Pagan, whose ball would land just over the left field fence in the bottom half of the inning to notch things up again.

San Francisco’s bats stayed hot heading into the sixth, as Angel Pagan and Denard Span would reach base ahead of Joe Panik, whose seventh hit of the year was a two-rbi double that bounced on the center field warning track to give the Giants their first lead of the day at 8-6. Panik would come around to score on a deep sac-fly by Pence two batters leader to extend the margin.

Bochy’s continuing faith in his starter would be rewarded, as Cueto would settle in to strike out three batters while allowing just two hits and one walk over the next three innings. After escaping one last jam with a two-out liner to Pagan, Cueto would exit the game to a loud standing ovation from the AT&T Park crowd.

The Giants bullpen picked up where Cueto left off, with Sergio Romo and Josh Osich working a rather uneventful eighth inning before Santiago Casilla would down the heart of the Dodgers lineup in order to capture his second save on the season, giving his team a 9-6 final.

The win gives San Francisco sole possession of the NL West heading into a stint with the Colorado Rockies next week.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs podcast with Daniel Dullum: Sharks limber up for Kings and post season

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On the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs with Daniel Dullum Daniel takes a  look at a gritty grind out week of playoff hockey up ahead as the San Jose Sharks get ready to face the Los Angeles Kings  for round one of the post season. The Sharks look to get back to where they were before ahead of a Southland team and fare better this time.

The last time they got together in post season with a Southland team they were up three games to none against the Los Angeles Kings only to see the Kings stage a four game come back against San Jose only to knock them out and embarrass the organization for the next season going forward. The Sharks weren’t in post season last season (2014-15) but they’re fired up to make it count this time around.

Plus Daniel goes over the Sharks last game from last Saturday against the Arizona Coyotes. Daniel takes a look at the tight defensive game both teams played last Saturday that didn’t see either team score until the Sharks Joe Pavelski found the back end of the net until 6:33 in the third period for the game’s only goal in a 1-0 Sharks victory.

Daniel Dullum does the NHL podcast each Sunday and Joe Lami does it each Tuesday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Own Goal Cost Quakes Victory

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By Joe Lami

photo credit: San Jose Earthquakes

The San Jose Earthquakes picked up their first road point of the campaign on Saturday afternoon in Texas, as they drew 2-2 with FC Dallas. San Jose has good standing in the Western Conference table, being in fourth place with eight points.

The Quakes’ scoring came early, as Alberto Quintero hit the top right corner off a low cross from Quincy Amarikwa in just the fourth minute of the game. It’s the first for Quintero, since he came from loan in the off-season from the Mexican club Lobos de la BUAP. “It felt very good. I am hoping to score more goals for the Quakes and for the fans,” Quintero commented.

FC Dallas equalized in the 36th minute on a Tesho Akindele penalty kick after Quakes’ defender Shaun Francis was called for a penalty within the box. Akindele drove it right down the middle, past a diving David Bingham to make the score 1-1.

The Quakes’ took the lead once again in the second half. Chris Wondolowski tallied his league-leading fourth goal of the season, in the 55th minute for the 2-1 lead. Amarikwa picked up his third assist of the season and second of the game on the tally, which now ranks him second in MLS assists on the season.

The lead didn’t last long, as just ten minutes later, a bad ball of the head of Victor Bernardez found his own net. The own goal came off a cross from Fabian Castillo for the equalizer.

Even though, San Jose gave up the lead twice, Quakes’ coach Dominic Kinnear isn’t too disappointed in the outcome, “They are a good team. Overall, I’m happy to come away with one point. I thought we had some good moments”.

The Quakes return to Avaya Stadium on Wednesday for a home contest against the New York Red Bulls before a weekend trip to Portland to take on the Timbers.

Kings win final game in Sleep Train/ARCO Arena 114-112 over OKC

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IMG_2789

by Charlie O. Mallonee

SACRAMENTO–On a night that felt more like a Hollywood awards show than a basketball game, the Sacramento Kings pulled off a storybook ending to close out their 2015-16 home schedule and to end their 28-year stay in Sleep Train/ARCO Arena.

The Kings defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 114-112 in front of a raucous, adoring sellout crowd that desperately wanted the team’s final game in the old building to be a victory. The crowd did its part. They were loud and into the game from the opening tip-off right up to the final buzzer.

The Kings did their job. They played the very talented Oklahoma City Thunder in a tough, physical manner that was worthy of a heavyweight boxing match. Every time the Thunder threw a punch, the Kings returned a punch. The Kings kept the game close then took the lead and fought back each time they lost the lead. There were 12 lead changes and the game was tied 12 times.

The game came down to the free throw shooting of Rudy Gay. Gay went to the free throw line three times in the final 17.4-seconds. He made 4-0f-6 chances from the charity stripe. None more important than the final shot with one second left to go in the game that made it a two-point game and gave the win to the Kings.

The game appeared to be headed to overtime when James Anderson fouled Russell Westbrook as he went into the act of shooting from behind the 3-point line. Westbrook stepped to the line and converted all three free throws to tie the game at 112-112 before Gay was fouled and put the game on ice for Sacramento.

This was the 32nd win of the season for the Kings. Their home record for the season will be 18-23. The win also allowed the Kings to finish the season 2-2 versus the Thunder. Sacramento won once in Oklahoma City and once at home.

Kings

 The player of the night for the Kings was guard Darren Collison. Collison was the team’s leading scorer with 27 points. He also dished out eight assists and grabbed five rebounds. Collison shot 10-for-16 from floor and was 4-for-6 from 3-point range. He ran the point and found ways to score in his 36-minutes of playing time.

The other standout player for Sacramento was Seth Curry. Curry finished the game with 20 points and three assists. He lit up the night from beyond the 3-point line hitting on 6-of-10 chances. Curry’s shooting kept the Kings in the game early and allowed Sacramento to keep the game close.

George Karl gave the game ball to Collison and Curry.

Rudy Gay finished the game with 24 points. Gay was 9-for-19 shooting and was a dismal 1-for-6 from 3-point range. He was 5-for-7 from the free throw where he ultimately won the game for his team. Gay also led the Kings in playing time with almost 38 minutes.

DeMarcus Cousins scored 15 points and hauled in seven rebounds. Cousins had a frustrating night shooting finishing 7-for-24 from the field. The Kings big man played in foul trouble throughout most of the game. He picked up three personals in the first half and three more in the second half. Cousins fouled out the game with 3:26 left to play.

The Kings had additional scoring from Kosta Koufos (8), Quincy Acy (7), James Anderson (5), Willie Cauley-Stein (4) and Ben McLemore (4).

Sacramento shot 47.9-percent (45-for-94) from the field. They were an impressive 13-for-32 (40.6-percent) from behind the 3-point line. The Kings struggled from the free throw line converting only 11-of-20 (55.0-percent) from the stripe.The Kings took good care of the basketball committing just 11 turnovers while dishing out 22 assists to reach the goal of a 2-to-1 ratio.

Thunder

 Kevin Durant led the Thunder in scoring putting up 31 points. Durant distributed eight assists and had six rebounds in his game-high 39-minutes of playing time.

Russell Westbrook had a double-double game scoring 24 points and dishing out 10 assists. Westbrook had trouble taking care of the ball as he turned it over a game-high eight times.

Serge Ibaka added 14 points and Enes Kanter scored 11 points for OKC.

The Thunder shot 48.1-percent (39-for-81) from the floor and hit on 13-of-32 (40.6-percent) beyond the 3-point line. Turnovers were a problem for OKC as their committed 21 in the game.

Oklahoma City is now 54-26 on the season. Their road record falls to 23-17.

What they had to say after the game

 “First thing I wrote in my notes is we’re playing a playoff team that will have a playoff atmosphere because of the historical event,” said Kings head coach George Karl. “I don’t think anyone was disappointed with what happened. The building had energy to it from the very beginning. It helped us. We rode the wave of the crowd and the energy.”

“Fans are incredible. Fans are first class, style, loyal, committed and next year they get a fantastic new building that hopefully will have more playoff games, rather than just regular season nice wins. Let’s have some playoff nice wins,” added Karl.

First class night

 As an organization, the Kings have faced a great deal of criticism this season and much of it has been deserved. On Saturday night, the Kings proved they know how to produce a big event and pull it off with class and grace.

The Kings paid tribute to fans and the players of the past 28 years that have filled Sleep Train/ARCO Arena with emotion and excellence.

Reggie Theus, who scored the first two points in the arena, praised the Kings for the way they have reached out and included the players from the past in the celebration of basketball in Sacramento.

The Kings front office made it a night to remember for the fans attending the final game in Sleep Train/ARCO Arena. The team and the way they won made it night to never forget.